In fact, the researchers managed to achieve their original goal. They created a dielectric, but it turned out to have hidden properties that turned it into a superconductor. Moreover, it happens very quickly.

How does it work

• The starting material, called Mn3Si2Te6, is an alloy of silicon, tellurium, and manganese that is cast into octagonal cells arranged in a honeycomb pattern. Therefore, electrons move chaotically from the outside of these cells, creating a kind of “traffic jam”, preventing a stable current flow.
• However, with the emergence of a magnetic field, the situation is reversed and the electrons begin to move rapidly and regularly in one direction.
• It only works when the magnetic field is directed strictly perpendicular to the material’s structure – no other angle produces a similar effect.

An alternative to the magnetic field would be the application of an electric current, but in this case it takes a significant amount of time, up to several minutes, to change the motion of the electrons.

Existing theoretical models cannot explain this phenomenon, so scientists talk about a new quantum state of matter.

What is known about Mn3Si2Te6

• Physicists first became interested in the material Mn3Si2Te6 because of its unique electrical properties. They were most interested in the so-called “magnetoresistance,” which is an extraordinary increase in the electrical conductivity of a material when a magnetic field is applied.
• In most materials, the application of a magnetic field does not change the conductivity. But in this case everything is different.
• The magnetoresistance phenomenon can scale to “huge” and “massive” changes in conductivity. A material can act as an insulator (for example, Styrofoam) or become a conductor like a metal wire.
• Such a change is not uncommon. Materials with giant magnetorization are not uncommon and are often used in computers. However, it does not change its behavior in all currently known materials in such a way that it depends significantly on the direction of the applied magnetic field. This new honeycomb-shaped material changes.